No Matter What Happens
by KoniGeorghion
Summary: Lilly Evans and James Potter are back for their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Lilly has hated James so long, she can't even remember why. James knows this is his last chance to get his girl, so he decides it's time to show her what she's missed in t
1. The Dream Team

Lilly Evans threw her arms around her father and buried her face in his neck. Nick Evans squeezed her tightly as he kissed the top of her head.

"Bye Dad." Lilly whispered before turning towards the barrier separating Platform 9 ¾ from the muggle station.

"Lilly—" Her father stopped her, grabbing her arm and turning her around. "I can't believe this is your last year in school. It seems like just yesterday you were scared as a rabbit getting on that train. I'm going to miss you next year, you know." He thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "Here. I hope you like it. It isn't much."

"Thanks Dad." The train whistle blew loudly and shrilly. "I've got to go!" She said quickly before she gave her father a quick peck on the cheek, grabbed her bag, and ran towards the train. She was going to her 7th and final year at Hogwarts, and unknowingly heading into the most confusing year of her life.

* * *

James Potter and Sirius Black stood with Mr. and Mrs. Potter near the gate.

"Now boys, I've given you each a few dollars to buy food on the train. I also gave you extra underwear in case you get---"

"MUM!" James interupted loudly. "_Please, we know._" Sirius snickered loudly and was about to make a smart remark when the train whistle blew.

"Bye boys!" Mrs. Potter said grabbing James and planting a kiss on his cheek with a loud _smack. _Sirius started to laugh, but before he knew it, Mrs. Potter had grabbed him and kissed him as well. This time it was James' turn to laugh. The boys said goodbye to James' father and turned to see their other two best friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew heading towards the train as well.

"Oy! Moony! Wormtail!" Sirius yelled loudly as he started off towards them. James nodded at his parents, smiled, then followed his best friend into the sea of students returning to Hogwarts.

* * *

Lilly was walking down the narrow hallway on the train when she heard her name being called.

"Lilly?" She turned around and saw her friend Jessie Moore waving at her, beckoning her towards her compartment. She smiled weakly and turned around, heading towards Jessie. Jessie took her bag and threw it into the compartment, then stepped aside and let Lilly in. Lilly sat down on the seat opposite Jessie's and sighed.

"You okay?" Jessie said, leaning against the door jam and propping her knee up against it.

"Yeah, I just can't believe this is my last first day of school." She smiled wistfully. "Oh well—we'll move on." Jessie nodded, then poked her head out of the door and broke into a huge grin.

"Great, here comes the dream team." Jessie muttered before their other best friend Beth Walker walked in with her boyfriend, Remus. Along with Beth and Remus came Sirius Black and James Potter. Lilly rolled her eyes and scooted farther towards the window. She and James had been annoying each other since they were first years.

"Where's Peter?" Jessie said as she walked up to Sirius and slipped her arms around his waist and planted a kiss on his nose.

"He's not coming back this year, he's going to Durmstrang--Hey Evans!" Sirius said, then jabbed James in the ribs and pushed him towards Lilly.

"Hey Evans," James said, turning slightly pink,

"Potter," Lilly said, scooting even closer to the wall. "How was your summer?"

"Fine." James stumbled. "And yours?"

"Fine-- You had a good vacation then?"

"Yeah—"James said, and then muttered under his breath, "Until now." Lilly looked a little hurt, but just rolled her eyes and turned to stare out the window again. Remus threw his and Beth's bags onto a chair and they sat down by Jessie. He reached across the aisle and gently took Beth's hands. She was sitting across from him, smiling sweetly. Somehow, Lilly ended up sitting across from Jessie and Sirius, who couldn't keep their hands off each other, and beside James. She didn't mind—James was extremely good-looking, and to tell the truth, she'd had a crush on him since 5th year. She just acted like she hated him so nobody would suspect her real feelings. After everyone was seated and settled, talking about how their summers had been, Lilly pulled out the box her father had given her. She lifted the lid. A small charm in the shape of a snowflake sat in a small fluff of cotton. When she pulled it out of the box, she found it was hanging on a simple silver chain.

"That's really pretty." A voice whispered, very close to her ear. Lilly snapped her head up and looked into the most gorgeous pair of hazel eyes she had ever seen—James'.

"Thank you. My father gave it to me as a going-away present. I'm really going to miss him next year. We're all each other have, you know?" Lilly ran her index finger over the charm, then unhooked the latch and moved her hair out of the way, forgetting that she was supposed to be annoyed with James.

"Here." He said, taking the necklace from her. "Let me." He brushed her hair out of the way and then hooked the necklace around her throat.

"Thank you--James." Lilly muttered as she let her hair fall around her shoulders once again.

"My pleasure." James said, realizing after he said it, with a little too much enthusiasm. He turned pink again, then shifted in his seat and leaned his head on the back of the seat.

"Stupid." He thought, "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!!" He hit his head lightly against the back of the seat, emphasizing each word with a thump.


	2. The Journey

Suddenly, the lights flickered off in the compartment and the train grinded to a hault. Somebody screamed, somebody else swore. Lilly could hear her friends being slammed against the compartment walls and against each other. She was thrown back into her seat, and found she couldn't move because something was holding her down. She twisted and turned, trying to get free, but she couldn't.

"Stop moving!" Somebody from above her hissed. She went limp.

"Oh shit." The voice from above her said, "She's fainted."

* * *

About ten seconds later the lights in the compartment came back on. Sirius was the first one on his feet. He looked around the compartment. There were papers from Remus' bookbag scattered everywhere. Jessie was laying across the aisle with a cut on her cheek and blood running down the side of her face. Remus was leaned against one of the seats, on the floor, trying to comfort Beth. He had his arms wrapped around her and she leaned against his chest, crying into his shirt. Sirius turned towards the back of the compartment and was shocked at what he saw. Lilly was leaned against the back of one of the seats, unconsious, and James was holding her in his arms. Sirius stepped over Beth and Remus, trying to get to Jessie. He lifted her up and sat down, then eased her up into a sitting position.

"You alright love?" He asked, ripping off a piece of his shirt and pressing it to the cut on her cheek.

"I'm fine—oh Lilly!" Jessie said noticing Lilly and James for the first time. "Is she---?"

"No," James said, "I think she just fainted." James shifted in his seat so that Lilly was cradled in his arms, leaning against his chest with one of his arms around her back and the other rubbing her arms to keep her warm. He took off his school cloak and threw it around her, then got her situated once again. Sirius noticed for the first time that James had a nasty cut on his hand and another on his forehead, so he ripped off another piece of his shirt and tossed it at James.

"Here, mate, clean yourself up. You're about to make me sick with all that blood." Sirius cracked a smile and returned to patching Jessie up. A few minutes later, Remus had calmed Beth down, and since both were unhurt, they went around the compartment picking up papers, books, and cleaning up ink.

"Sirius," Jessie said, grabbing his arm when he stood up to help.

"Yes love?" He asked, turning around and kneeling down.

"You're hurt." Jessie gently pushed him so he turned and looked at his arm. There was a long cut running from his elbow to his wrist. She quickly ripped off a piece of fabric from her skirt and tied it around his arm so the bleeding would stop. It looked pretty bad, but Sirius shrugged it off.

"Just a scratch. Don't worry about me, just get some rest." He pushed her softly back into the seat and kissed her lightly.

"James, Sirius, c'mon, let's go up to the front of the compartment and see what's going on." Beth traded places with James and Jessie sat on her knees in the aisle at Lilly and Beth's feet and smoothed the fiery red hair off Lilly's face. James looked back once at Lilly, then followed Sirius and Remus out of the compartment.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the boys returned looking slightly shaken and very pale. James immediately went over to where Beth had layed Lilly out on the seat and kneeled down next to her. Jessie dashed over to Sirius with a very frightened expression on her face.

"Sirius? Sirius what's wrong?" Sirius didn't say anything, he just put his arms around her. After a minute, he said quietly:

"There's nobody left on the train. They're all gone. We're pretty close to Hogwarts though, Remus thinks we should be able to walk there by morning. Right Remus?" Sirius and Jessie turned to where Remus had his arms around Beth and was whispering to her.

"Right." He said, turning around. Beth clung to him, but tried to straighten herself up and put on a brave face.

"But what about Lilly?" She said quietly.

"We can try to wake her up." Jessie suggested. Sirius shook her head.

"That girl isn't waking up anytime soon." He said, then looked at James, knowing what he was about to do. "Mate? Penny for your thoughts."

"I'll carry her." James said, then he picked up his bag and put it on the seat. He opened it and looked around on the floor until he found Lilly's bag, which he stuffed into his own. He asked Remus to carry it, then gently lifted Lilly up into his arms. When everyone else had gotten their things together, Remus, with James' bag and his own in hand, led the group out of the train and they followed the train tracks to the castle.

* * *

Four and a half hours later, the group stumbled into the front doors of the castle. Jessie had twisted her ankle while they were walking, so Sirius was carrying her. Lilly had woken up, but promptly fainted again when she saw that James was carrying her and he had blood running down his face. James' legs were about to break from carrying her for such a long time. He sunk to his knees, as did Sirius, and Beth and Remus ran to get help. Moments later, Professor McGonagall was bustling towards them.

"Oh my—"She said, then turned to see Madam Pomfrey rushing towards them. Her face went white as she saw the two girls on the floor, one with a nasty cut on her cheek, tear stains running down her face, and the other—sheet white and unconsious, shivering even though she had on two Gryffindor robes wrapped around her shoulders. Then she looked at the two boys, one with blood stains on his white shirt, which was torn into shreds, and the other, shivering, with no cloak on, blood caked on his face and hands and looking so tired he could hardly breathe.

"Oh my goodness!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, then with lightening speed, she and Professor McGonagall conjured up two stretchers for the girls, and told James and Sirius to follow her. Remus and Beth had to half carry James and Sirius, since they were so tired and weak. They finally reached the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey had the four injured students in bed in a flash. Remus sat in a chair between James and Lilly's beds and Beth tied her hair back and rushed about the room, fetching things and helping Madam Pomfrey. Within an hour, Madam Pomfey was shooing Remus and Beth from the hospital wing, slamming the door shut with a 'bang'.


	3. A Midnight Chat

James looked over at the bed next to his and laughed. Sirius was asleep, his head at the foot of the bed and his arms thrown across his face. He let out a loud snore. James heard something move behind him and snapped his head to look over his shoulder. Lilly was moaning softly and blinking her eyes open. James pushed the covers off his legs and climbed out of bed. He tiptoed across the cold stone floor to her bed and gently sat on the edge.

"Lilly?" He whispered, leaning over her.

"James? What's going on? Where am I?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes and looking around.

"In the hospital wing. The train crashed and you were knocked out." He explained as he helped her sit up. He slipped his hand behind her back and pushed her forward slightly so he could adjust her pillows.

"Thanks." She said, blushing slightly and leaning back. "I think I remember. I remember it going dark, and I was pinned under something, and I tried to get free...somebody told me to stop moving, but I don't remember anything other than that. Is everyone okay? Are—Are you alright?" It was James' turn to blush.

"Yeah, ah—you were pinned under me-- I kind of fell on you. Sorry...everybody else is okay though. Sirius and Jessie were cut up a little, and Jessie twisted her ankle, but other than that, they're okay. I think you should probably get some sleep though. We all need to." Lilly nodded, but when James turned around she stopped him.

"James!" He turned around and sat on the edge of her bed again.

"Yeah Lilly?"

"Thanks. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't..." She smiled at him and shrugged. "I don't really know what you did, but thanks for doing it anyway." James grinned. Lilly loved it when he did that.

"You're welcome." He pulled the blanket over her and leaned over her. "After all you've done for me; it was the least I could do. It was my pleasure." He kissed her cheek. Even though it was dark, Lilly could tell he was blushing. She watched him as he moved back towards his bed in the moonlight. She wiggled down under the blanket and put her hand to her cheek where he'd kissed her. Still smiling, she fell asleep.

* * *

Lilly winced as she tried to open her eyes. Sunlight spilled through the window opposite her bed. She yawned and rubbed her face, sat up, and looked around.

"Ah! Miss Evans! I'm glad to see you awake at last!" Madam Pomfrey said from where she was pouring pumpkin juice into a glass. She put the glass on a tray where a piece of toast and a bottle of medicine along with bandages and another brown bottle sat. She bustled over to Lilly's bed and laid the tray on her bedside table.

"What time is it?" Lilly mumbled.

"Nearly six o'clock in the evening Miss Evans... Merlin, I thought you'd never wake up! Mr. Lupin and Black have been in here every hour and your girlfriends Miss Moore and Walker have been in here all day! **And** I had to threaten Potter with a detention and loss of house points to make him leave so he wouldn't be late for class! **And** he's been coming here between classes **and** he spent his whole lunch bell here! I must say Miss Evans, he's quite a catch." Lilly blushed as Madam Pomfrey thrust the plate of toast at her and motioned for her to eat. Pulling out her wand, Madam Pomfrey flicked it and a spoon appeared on the tray. She filled the spoon with liquid from the brown bottle, and shoved it into Lilly's mouth. Lilly swallowed it and made a face.

"Merlin!! What the hell is that stuff?!" She said, grabbing the glass of pumpkin juice and knocking it back. It was gone in two gulps. She wiped her mouth with her napkin and closed her eyes. "That was horrible. I feel nauseous."

"What did you expect? Pumpkin juice?" Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes and shook a pill out of the other bottle.

"Is that thing as bad as what you just gave me?" Lilly said, warily taking the pill.

"No, in fact it's better." Madam Pomfrey replied, packing everything back on the tray once more. Lilly took the pill from Madam Pomfrey and swallowed it. A sweet, buttery taste filled her mouth. As she sat there, it warmed her from the inside out.

"Wow, that feels nice." Lilly said, smiling. Madam Pomfrey took her pulse, checked her eyes, ran a few more tests, and declared her fit to leave. When Lilly stood up, she was still a little weak, so Madam Pomfrey helped her get dressed, then left her so she could fix her hair and do her makeup. Lilly looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She looked very nice. She was wearing tight jeans and a green sweater that Jessie said made her look "devoon" (what ever that meant. She guessed it meant "devine" in Jessie-language). She tied her hair back with a green ribbon and put on a little eyeshadow and lip gloss. As she was leaving she thanked Madam Pomfrey and promised to come back later to take another pill. Then she set off to find her friends---and James.


	4. A Smile, A Sweatshirt, & A Miracle

Lilly stopped at the door of the Great Hall. She looked down the Gryffindor table and tried to find her friends. She didn't see Jessie or Beth, but saw the Marauders towards the middle of the table. She walked down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables and and stopped behind Remus. Sirius looked up from where he was stuffing himself and broke into a huge grin.

"Well if it ithn't Evanth...." He said swallowing the huge amount of food crammed into his mouth. "Welcome back."

"Hello Lilly, are you feeling better?" Remus said, standing up and offering Lilly his seat.

"That's okay, you don't have to—"Lilly stammered, blushing when she realized James was staring at her with a big grin on his face.

"It's okay, I was finished. Sirius and I were just leaving—weren't we Padfoot?" He said, vanishing his dirty plate and silverware. Sirius looked bewildered.

"We were?" Remus rolled his eyes and pointed at Lilly and James. Sirius seemed to get the picture. "Oh! Yeah, we were just leaving...I um—I need to go to the library." He grabbed three rolls off a platter in the middle of the table and vanished his plate and utensils, then ran off with Remus. James cleared his throat and turned slightly pink as he watched Lilly sit down next to him.

"Subtle that lot....aren't they?" He said hesitantly. Lilly turned towards him and smiled. She nodded her head, and looked at her folded hands lying in her lap.

"James—"

"Lilly—" They both said at the same time. The tension broke then, and Lilly motioned for James to go first.

"Lilly—I know we aren't the best of friends, and I know you hate me and everything---"

"James..."

"—and I'm sorry I made you pass out by falling on you during the train ride yesterday—" He continued.

"James..."

"---but I was trying to protect you...I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you Lilly, I—"

"_James!_" Lilly reached out and softly placed her fingers over his lips. They stopped moving and James stared at her in disbelief. Lilly snatched her hand back and blushed after she'd realized what she'd done. "I—er—I just wanted to thank you for rescuing me yesterday, and last—last night was wonderful. Thank you for everything." She said quietly. They were silent for a moment.

"It was my pleasure," He said for the third time in the last twenty-four hours. After another long, awkward silence, Lilly looked at the food on the table and realized she wasn't hungry at all. "Lilly?" James said after a few moments. She turned towards him. "If you aren't going to eat anything, do you want to take a walk down to the Quidditch pitch with me?" Lilly nodded and they both stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. When they passed through the main doors, Lilly slipped her hand into James'. From the teacher's table, Dumbledore smiled and looked over at Professor McGonagall.

"Looks like Miss Evans and Mr. Potter are no longer enemies does it?" He muttered quietly.

"No sir, I don't believe they are." McGonagall smiled, then returned to eating her soup.

* * *

Lilly shivered slightly as they walked out to the Quidditch pitch. James saw this and slipped his sweatshirt over his head and handed it to Lilly.

"Here, take it. We should have brought jackets." He said, stopping and letting go of Lilly's hand for a moment. Lilly missed the contact and the warmth of her hand wrapped in his. She hesitantly accepted the sweatshirt.

"James, you'll freeze!" She said, noticing that all he had on was a long sleeved t-shirt.

"I'm fine. Put it on, I don't want you getting sick. I doubt you want to go back to the hospital wing do you?" Lilly shook her head, and pulled the sweatshirt over her sweater. It was still warm. The smell of faint cologne made Lilly smile. James had always smelled really good. Lilly pulled her hair out away from the collar and giggled.

"How do I look?" She smiled, then held her hands out like a model and turned around. James broke into a grin.

"Absolutely beautiful...although that sweatshirt is way too big for you." He tugged the edge of the sweatshirt and pulled her over towards him. He pulled her hand through his and they started walking again. They reached the Quidditch pitch and Lilly led James over to a bench. James put his arm around here and she leaned against him. Lilly beamed. James had called her beautiful and she was wearing his sweatshirt. Could life get any better than this?

"OY!" James and Lilly jumped at the loud voice. They had been so caught up in each other, they hadn't even realized they weren't alone on the Quidditch pitch. Sirius had his broomstick and was showing off in the air, Jessie was on the ground with her broomstick beside her, smiling and cheering him on, and Remus and Beth sat on another bench across the field watching and holding hands. Lilly blushed as Sirius landed and stumbled over to where they were. She sat up and James took his arm from around her shoulders.

"OY!!" Sirius yelled again, grinning from ear to ear. "What's going on?" Lilly blushed and glanced at James. He was blushing and laughing happily. Lilly started laughing as well and Remus, Beth, and Jessie hurried over from across the pitch.

"What's going on?"

"Did we miss the fun?"

"Lilly! _Why are you wearing his shirt_?!" Jessie squealed. Then she laughed devilishly and slipped her arm around Sirius. "Guess they couldn't stand to be left out of the fun!" She joked as Sirius dropped his arm around her waist. Remus was still grinning as he looked at his watch.

"Oh great, ten minutes until curfew...we're going to have to make a run for it." Sirius and Jessie grabbed their brooms, and James grabbed Lilly's hand. They ran quickly towards the castle. At one point, James tripped over a tree root and stumbled. He fell and pulled Lilly to the ground with him. Somehow, James landed on top of Lilly, leaning on his forarms, which were on each side of her head. He smiled at her, but before anything happened, Sirius grabbed the back of James' shirt and gave it a sharp tug.

"Not now mate! We're gonna get detention and I have plans tomorrow night and don't want to be stuck with Professor Langley again!" James rolled off Lilly and pulled her up. Running to catch up, they followed Sirius, Jessie, Remus, and Beth back towards the castle.


	5. Goodnight!

The six of them reached the Gryffindor common room and slipped in undetected. For the first time since they had entered the castle, they all started to breathe again. Although James and Sirius were used to getting detentions, they didn't want to make Lilly and Jessie angry, plus, they had better things to do than spend time doing extra homework. They sat around a blazing fire in the common room and talked. Remus sat in one of the huge armchairs with one arm draped around Beth, who was perched on the side of the chair. Jessie was curled up in the other chair with Sirius at her feet. James was tucked snugly into the corner of the poufy couch with his arms wrapped around Lilly, who was leaning against his chest. It was one in the morning before Remus decided he was going to turn in. Beth agreed, and the two headed up to their rooms. Sirius got up and took their chair, and Jessie followed him. The minute he sat down, she curled up in his lap and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"Why don't I get to have a chair to myself?" Sirius said huffily.

"Because you'll get cold if you're in this big old thing by yourself! Besides, I'm your girlfriend and I can do whatever I want." Jessie grinned at him and kissed the tip of his nose. Sirius just smirked and wrapped his arms tighter around Jessie.

"Damn right—you're mine." Jessie leaned against him. James laughed as he watched Sirius and Jessie joking around. He looked down at the small, sleeping figure curled up in his arms and smiled. Lilly's red hair flashed in the fire-glow and her cheeks were rosy and bright. She had a contented smile on her face. She shifted slightly and murmered something in her dreams. James looked up to see Sirius and Jessie staring at him.

"What?" He asked quickly.

"Nothing, nothing...you want to take her up to bed, Prongs?" Jessie slapped him across the arm and hissed:

"SIRIUS."

"Geez, I was just saying she's out—asleep." Sirius said as Jessie rolled her eyes and crawled off his lap

"I would, but I can't get up to the girl's dorm." James said, then leaned over Lilly and whispered, "Lilly? You ready to go to bed?" Lilly opened her eyes slightly and looked at him. She smiled, then closed them again.

"Sure," She murmered. James lifted her head off his chest and slipped out from under her. Sirius grabbed his bags and turned to James.

"Come 'ere man. And bring Lilly." He said, then turned around and followed Jessie towards the girl's dorms. James, somewhat confused, lifted Lilly into his arms. She slipped her arms around his neck and lifted her head off his shoulder.

"Wha--?" She mumbled.

"Go back to sleep," James said soothingly, then followed Sirius and Jessie. They stood by the girl's staircase. Sirius broke into a huge grin, and then pointed to a brick. The brick was darker than all of the others, it was a lot smaller too.

"Number one: Gaining access to the girl's dorms." Sirius started, "Find brick, tap brick with wand three times, say the word 'Enteratus' and wait." Sirius tapped the brick, said 'Enteratus', and waited. The bricks started rearranging themselves so they made a sort of doorway. He, Jessie, and James stepped through the doorway into a small room. Sirius tapped the brick again and the doorway resealed itself. They were plunged into complete darkness. Sirius stopped and said:

"Number two: Announce yourself—"He raised his voice and called out, "Mr. Sirius Black and James Potter to deliver these beautiful girls, Miss Jessie Moore and Lilly Evans to their rooms." Suddenly a candle blazed to life and a red and gold curtain pulled back revealing a door on the opposite wall. Sirius called out again, "Thank you!" Then opened the door for Jessie and James and followed them in. They walked up a set of stairs that deposited them in Jessie, Beth, and Lilly's room. James walked over to Lilly's bed and layed her on it. He pulled the blankets over her and kissed her forehead, just as he had the night before.

"James," She whispered as he turned to rejoin Sirius and Jessie. He turned around and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah Lilly?" He brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes.

"Thank you--" She pushed herself up onto her elbows and smiled at him. "--for everything." She leaned towards him and tilted her head to the right. She pressed her lips to his. James slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer towards him.

"Ahem." Sirius cleared his throat loudly. Lilly pulled back from James and blushed slightly. "Isn't it about time we left Prongs?" He added with a grin.

James grinned at Lilly, leaned over, kissed her on the lips and smiled.

"See you tomorrow Lilly."

"Bye James," She said, lying down again. Jessie looked as if she was about to explode as she pushed James and Sirius out of the room. Sirius protesting.

"But can't we just stay—I wanted to—"He said as she put both hands on his chest and pushed him towards the door.

"Uh-Uh, not now---Girl talk now, boy talk later—Bye boys! Good night! Sweet Dreams James! Sirius--GO!" She gave one final push and James and Sirius had the door slammed in their faces.

* * *

Jessie leaned against the door and squealed. Then, looking over at Lilly, who had climbed out of bed and was putting on her pajamas, she clapped her hands and jumped from one foot to the other.

"Oh my goodness—little Miss Lilly just had her first kiss with Jamsie-Wamsie!" She danced over to Lilly's bed and jumped onto the end of it. Lilly climbed in and fell back onto her bed. She grabbed her pillow and wrapped her arms around it, giving it a good squeeze. "Well, how does it feel?" Jessie asked, laying on her stomach, and leaning on her elbows, ready for every juicy detail she thought Lilly was about to spill. Lilly just smiled and squeezed the pillow harder.

"It felt wonderful—I feel wonderful, now leave me alone so I can go to sleep!" Lilly grinned and rolled over, then kicked her feet at Jessie, telling her to get off the bed. "Shoo!' She yelled, but it was muffled by the pillow. Jessie grinned and hopped from Lilly's bed to her own, then blew out the candle and crawled under the covers.

"Good night Lillykins—I'm sure you'll have Sweet James Dreams!" She said.

"Would you shut up?" Beth yelled from her bed on the other side of the room. "And stop making out in front of me Lils, you're making me sick." She poked her head up from under the covers and grinned. "Just kidding. Goodnight girls!"


	6. YOU WHAT!

(A/N: I realize I don't have a disclaimer or anything in these chapters, but you know I don't own these characters, so I don't see the point of wasting your precious vision and time on silly little me.

I do have something important to say though. All the girls **know** about Remus being a werewolf, so do the boys of course. Just thought I'd let you know—back to the story!! REVIEW PLEASE!!)

* * *

The next few months went by in a blur for Lilly: James had asked her to be his girlfriend the night after she kissed him, and ever since, things were going splendidly. The first Hogsmeade weekend came and Lilly, James, Sirius, Jessie, Remus, and Beth all went together. Somehow, James fixed it so he and Lilly could slip off unnoticed about two hours before they had to go back to the castle. He walked her down the lane to the end of the village, then took her up into the mountains, where he led her to a small cave hidden in the side. They sat in the cave and watched the sunset; Lilly curled up against James with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Remus and I were hunting around the village late one night and found this place. His transformations are getting so much better Lilly—he's not so wild, we've tamed him." He whispered after a few minutes. Lilly sat up and turned towards him, placing her hand on his chest.

"I wish you guys would be more careful. What if something happened? What if he hurt someone? What if someone _saw_ him--?" Lilly was stopped by James leaning over and pressing his mouth against hers. He pulled back and leaned forward, so their heads were touching.

"Nothing will happen—nothing's happened for two years. It's fine." He reassured her.

"I still worry about it." She whispered. "I don't want you to get hurt—I love you." James looked shocked for a minute, but then broke into one of his wonderful grins. He ran a hand through his messy hair and grinned even more.

"I love you too Lil." She smiled and leaned against him again, pulling his arms more tightly around her. They stayed like this for a half an hour watching the sunset, then James got up and started walking around the cave, shaking out his stiff legs. Lilly stretched, then got up and joined him by the mouth of the cave. They looked out over Hogsmede. James put his arms around Lilly's shoulders and pulled her close. She put her arms around his waist and they stood there, watching as the sky darkened and little lights came on in the village below. All too soon they saw blue sparks shoot into the sky-- the call-back sign for Hogwarts students—it was time to go back home.

Halloween passed, Thanksgiving came and went, and the Yule Ball was fast approaching. The prefects dashed around, trying to set up a band, hang decorations, prepare posters, and plan menues. Remus and Lilly, as Head Boy and Head Girl, were in charge of everything, and every night in the common room, Lilly fell into James' arms, half asleep, muttering:

"I can't wait until this whole bloody ball is over." They'd sit by the fire with their friends, Lilly and Remus usually either asleep or catching up on last minute details, and all the rest animatedly chatting away. James and Beth would sometimes try to help the Heads, but unfortunately, they couldn't do a lot. Lilly thought she had everything planned out—everything was ready—it was going to be perfect. All of a sudden late one night, about two days before the Ball, Lilly sprung out of bed.

"Jessie! Beth! I just realized—I don't have a dress! James hasn't even asked me to go with him to the Ball! Oh what'll I do? What'll I do?"

"YOU DIDN'T ASK HER TO THE BLOODY BALL!?" Sirius yelled at James the next morning. Jessie had burst into their common room five seconds before saying that Lilly was having an anxiety attack and they were going to Hogsmeade to try to find her a dress. She turned around and looked at James.

"How could you forget to ask her to go with you? Honestly, you didn't think about that little part of your plan did you?" Jessie rolled her eyes. Then, as quickly as she came, she left, slamming the door behind her.

"I thought she knew—"James stammered. "I mean, we've talked about it loads of times...."

"I know that, but she's a girl! Girls need to hear these things plain and simple! They want to be able to go to their friends and tell them about how romantic their boyfriends are and how their boyfriends asked them to go to the Ball. What kind of oaf are you? Damnit James, I thought you were smarter than this! God—c'mon—do you have her corsage?" Sirius said, hurridly pulling on his jeans over his boxers covered with snitches.

"What?!" James said, getting slightly frustrated, pulling his jeans on as well.

"OO DN'T GIT CER-SAGE?!" Sirius yelled as his head got stuck in his red turtleneck sweater. "YOU DIDN"T GET HER A CORSAGE?! DAMN JAMES!" He shoved his feet into his shoes, grabbed his field coat, and ran down to the common room. "MEET ME IN THE COMMON ROOM IN 5 MINUTES. I'M GOING TO DO SOME DAMAGE CONTROL!" He yelled as he threw open the door and ran down the stairs.

"OK ALREADY! YOU CAN STOP SCREAMING AT ME NOW!" James yelled down the stairs as he jerked on his dark green shirt, tucked it in, buttoned it up, pulled on his shoes, and grabbed his leather jacket. He ran down the stairs in a flash. He stopped dead when he saw Jessie and Beth. They were standing in front of Lilly. Sirius was in front of Jessie, talking to her and Remus was at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for James.

"Watch out—"Remus warned, "You're in for it." He gave James a wink, then grabbed Beth's hand and walked out of the common room. James hurried over to Lilly and grabbed her by the wrist. He dragged her out through the portrait hole into the hallway, leaving the Sirius and Jessie alone in the common room.


	7. No Matter What Happens

"James, let go—you're hurting me." Lilly snapped from behind him, trying to pull away. He didn't say a word—he was angry. He dragged her down two hallways, searching. _We need a place to talk in private—no interuptions. I have to make her understand. _He thought. A door popped up in the wall in front of him. He slammed the door open and pushed Lilly inside. Following her in, he shut the door and whirled around on her. She had tears pouring down her face and was rubbing her wrist.

"We need a place to sit downJames said quietly, not taking his eyes off Lilly. A big armchair popped up in the middle of the room, it was barely big enough for two people. James led Lilly over to it and sat her down. He got on his knees on the floor and gently took her hands in his.

"Lilly—I'm sorry I hurt you. I want you to know that I would never intentionally try to hurt you in any way, shape, or form. I love you, you're everything to me. You're my whole life right now. I thought you knew that." James got off his knees and walked away from her chair, running his hands through his already messy hair. Lilly had never seen him this frusterated. He whirled around and stared at her. There was a fire in his eyes that Lilly had never seen before—it scared her. Another chair popped up across the room and he walked over and slammed down onto it, cradling his head in his hands. Lilly went over and sat beside him. She put her hands on his wrists and pulled them away from his face. The way he looked at her—she could tell he was hurt.

"James, I didn't mean it like that—it's just—I don't know. With everything going on—with Quidditch and your classes piling up, I guess I didn't think. I know you want to become an Auror and I know you love Quidditch, so I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me." She whispered, still holding his wrists. She let them go as he grabbed her hands, gently this time.

"_Forgotten about **you**? _Lilly—you're my top priority right now. I don't want Quidditch and Auror training—I just want you. I thought you knew that. I've loved you ever since I met you, and I couldn't bear to lose you, or have you think I didn't love you. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you." She started crying and he pulled her towards him. Lilly sat in that huge armchair and listened to James tell her how much he loved her, and as he asked her to take her to the Ball, she knew she could never be this happy ever again.

* * *

When Lilly and James returned to the common room, there was a surprise waiting for Lilly. Across one of the couches lay a gorgeous emerald green dress. It was long and shining with flowing fabric. It had a sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves. Lilly's jaw dropped as James led her over to the couch and whispered in her ear:

"Surprise..." Lilly turned towards him.

"Did you--?" She choaked. Jessie couldn't stand it anymore.  
"We were all in on it! He's had this dress for weeks! He wasn't going to show it to you until the night of the ball, but we decided now was a better time, so we layed it all out for you! It's for you Lilly! All for you!" She squealed before anyone could shut her up. Remus was over in the corner trying to explain what was going on to Sirius, who wasn't in on the surprise since he was—well, he had a big mouth. Remus rolled his eyes and he and Sirius grabbed her. They took her upstairs to the boy's dorms and Beth followed, leaving James and Lilly alone in the common room.

"James, I can't accept this! It's—it's too much." She stammered, still shocked and in disbelief.

"You can and you will." James said as Lilly started to cry. She threw her arms around his neck and thanked him over and over again.

"You're so wonderful!" She sobbed onto his shoulder. James laughed and stroked her hair, soothing her and trying to calm her down.

* * *

"Lilly, you look beautiful." James said as he offered her his arm. She took it and swept up her dress with her other hand.

"Thank you, you look pretty dashing yourself." She smiled at him. The dress looked gorgeous on her, and she had her hair falling about her shoulders in big spiral curls. She pulled up her emerald green gloves. "I want to thank you again for everything James. The dress is beautiful."

"You look beautiful in it. Here." James pulled a silver charm bracelet out of his pocket. He hooked it around her wrist. On it was a small heart charm with an 'L' on one side and a 'J' on the other.

"Oh James!" Lilly hugged him and kissed his cheek. "This is all too much. You aren't allowed to get me anything for Christmas or my Birthday ever again!"

James laughed as they walked down towards the Great Hall behind Sirius and Jessie. They all walked in and the crowd stepped back. The girls looked at Lilly, Beth, and Jessie with envy—all three were on the arm of a handsome Marauder. The boys looked at James, Remus, and Sirius with pure jealousy, every guy in the room wanted to be dancing with the three most beautiful girls in school. They stopped in the middle of the room. James bowed to Lilly, she curtsied, he took her hand and they were off.

"I feel as if I'm dancing on air!" Lilly laughed as James spun her around over and over again.

"Don't look down or you'll fall." He said, happy she was having such a good time.

"That line is so old." Lilly said as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I don't care, it suits the occasion." James said, and just before the dance ended, he swept her off her feet and carried her off the dance floor.

"James, put me down." She giggled as she slipped her arms from around his neck. He put her down and slipped off to get some soda. Lilly walked towards the double doors leading to the gardens and stepped outside. She was greeted by a cool breeze. Suddenly, a voice that sent a chill up her spine came from behind her.

"I'm glad you like the fresh air Miss Evans, so do I." Lilly whipped around Lucius Malfoy stood in front of the door with three other Slytherins. Lucius pointed at her.

"Get her Crabbe." Auguste Crabbe stumbled forward and made a grab for her, he missed and she ran off into the trees. Suddenly she ran into something, she was trapped. She looked up into the face of a grinning Lucius Malfoy.


	8. Our Dearest Slytherin Friends

(A/N: Ok, I had reviews!!! YAY!! Ok—Quick response real fast—

I had somebody tell me that Lilly's name was spelled LILY, well, I know, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, but I get confused sometimes, and I decided to spell it Lilly w/ 2 Ls, so I wouldn't make so many errors, b/c I'm kinda a dumb-butt and forget these things easily—so sorry!! (I know i just confused the heck out of you, and I'm sorry for that too)

BTW—Thanks for saying its good...if you have any questions or ideas or whatever, just let me know!)

* * *

"Lilly?" James looked for her all around the dance floor. He walked around to where the double doors leading to the garden were and peeked out. He saw a figure move in the trees, then he saw a flash of silver—Lilly's charm bracelet. He saw another figure—a boy's—a boy with long blonde-white hair. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He put the glasses of soda on a table near the door and pulled out his wand.

"Alohamora," He said, then cracked open the door.

"_Let go of me! Help! HELP! HE—" _Lilly's yells for help filled the empty courtyard. James looked over his shoulder and motioned for Sirius to come over to where he was. He explained what he'd just heard, and they walked into the courtyard, to where Lucius Malfoy, Auguste Crabbe, Marcus Goyle, and Severus Snape (who'd just joined them) were standing, taunting Lilly. James peered through the bushes and saw Lilly, struggling to get free of Lucius. He started to go in after her, but Sirius put his hand on James' arm and pulled him back.

"Wait—Wait for my signal—but don't _go before I give you a signal_." He whispered before disappearing into the opposite side of the trees.

"You filthy little Mudblood—"Lucius was hissing in Lilly's ear, "You have no right to live—no right to be at this school." James' fists clenched as he saw Lucius slip his hand under Lilly's dress.

"_You bastard—"_Lilly squealed after she'd bitten Lucius' hand and he'd let go of her face. She turned around and clawed at him, missing mostly, but getting a few good swipes on his face, drawing blood. He grabbed her again and wrestled her to the ground. He pinned her down with a knee on each side of her hips and his one hand pressed down over her mouth. She couldn't speak—she couldn't breathe.

"He'p me!" She tried to yell, but she knew no one could hear her. This was killing James—he wanted to get in there—to save her, but he decided to do as Sirius said and await a signal. He looked back over at Lilly, who was on the floor, her dress up around her hips. The other Slytherins stood around grinning and laughing and urging Lucius on. She bit his hand again—he screamed—she tried to get away, but was still pinned down on the ground. He slapped his hand back over her mouth and tightened his grip around her waist as he heard a rustle in the bushes.

"Who's there?!" He yelled into the darkness. Goyle, Crabbe, and Snape all stopped clapping and laughing at Lilly's struggle so they could listen. All of a sudden, a big black dog bounded out of the trees and attacked Lucius, knocking him off his feet and allowing Lilly to get free. She backed away slowly, and looked around her cautiously. She knew the dog was Sirius—but nobody else did. She made sure Goyle, Crabbe, Snape, and Malfoy were occupied with Sirius before she slunk back into the shadows. James' eyes grew rounder as he watched his precious Lilly disappear. Where she had stood five minutes before was a chestnut fox, flicking her tail. She looked over and saw him in the bushes, staring at her in disbelief. The fox seemed to hesitate for a moment, then bowed its head slightly and ran into the fight, nipping and biting at Goyle and Crabbe. James heard Sirius growl at Lucius and leap on him again. Lilly snarled and James couldn't take it anymore—he transformed into his Animagus form, a stag, and bounded into the fight to help Sirius and Lilly.

* * *

Twenty minutes later the fight was over and Lilly, James, and Sirius were shoving the last limp figure—Malfoy's—into the bushes.

"Fat one that? Isn't he?" Sirius said with a grin, then gave Malfoy a swift kick in the pants before they walked back towards the castle. Lilly laughed and glanced over at James. He looked odd—shocked—nervous.

"James?" Lilly said, touching his arm softly. "Is something wrong?" James seemed to snap out of his stupor and put on a fake (Lilly could tell) smile.

"No love, I'm fine—but you look terrible." He said, chuckling slightly as he took in Lilly's hair, once curled softly around her shoulders, now frizzy and sticking out in every which way. There were sticks and leaves and dirt clods stuck in it also. Her dress had dirt on it and her face was also streaked with mud. Sirius looked just as bad, and James imagined he must look the same.

"We'd better go get changed"—Sirius said, "Before those jerks wake up. Merlin I wish they wouldn't—"He said as Lilly slapped him around the head.

"Sirius! Just because we hate, despise, and loath them doesn't mean we want them dead!" James grinned as Lilly slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and winked at him, "Would we James?" James grinned and shook his head.

"Nope, we'd never want any harm to come to our dearest Slytherin friends."


	9. The Wolf, Leopard, and Fox

Sirius went off to gather up the rest of the crew—Remus, Beth, and Jessie, while James and Lilly went on up to the Gryffindor common rooms.

"It's so strange," Lilly whispered, "Usually when we walk down these halls, there's at least a ghost somewhere—but now—now it's silent as the grave. It's kind of creepy." She pulled James' arm tighter around her shoulder and leaned into him as they walked.

"Yeah, a little—but it's not too bad. It's nice having a little privacy for a change." He stopped and kissed her softly on the lips. "Are you sure you're okay? Malfoy and his goons didn't hurt you?" He ran his hands down her arms, cupped her face in his large, calloused hands, and touched his forehead to hers.

"I'm fine James; I'm just a little sore from being thrown on the ground." Lilly smiled at him and tugged his arm to make him start walking again. Soon they were in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for the rest of the crowd to come. James pulled Lilly over to the sofa in front of the fire and stretched out across it.

"You tired?" He whispered, kissing near her ear as she took off her shoes and curled up beside him.

"A little." She yawned and closed her eyes while James slipped his arm around her waist. James gazed into the crackling fire and thought about the fight.

"Lil?" He whispered. She rolled over and looked at him.

"Hmm?"

"Back in the courtyard—when did you learn how to do that? How?" He asked, sitting up and waiting for an answer. Lilly's face brightened as she came to a realization.

"So_ that's_ what's been bothering you, huh? I guess I should have told you. I wanted it to be a surprise. We were going to meet up with you one full moon and show you then." She said with relief. "After we found out about you and Sirius being Animagi, we decided that we would try it as well." James' eyes grew even rounder than they already were.  
"_We? _All three of you can do it!?" He said in disbelief.

"Well, yes—let me see—Beth is a wolf, Jessie is a leopard, and I'm a fox." James broke into a huge grin.

"A vixen, huh?" He growled low in his throat and leaned over, kissing her neck. Lilly laughed, pushing him away playfully and sitting up just as Sirius, Remus, Beth, and Jessie walked in.

"Did you know all three of them are Animagi?!" James and Sirius said to each other at the same time. Jessie and Beth glanced at each other, then at Lilly.

"What's going on?" They said together. Remus walked calmly over to sit near the fire, pulling Beth along with him. Sirius did the same to Jessie as Beth cleared her throat.

"Um—Lilly, I thought we'd agreed we weren't going to tell them unless absolutely necessary." She said quietly. Lilly smiled at her reassuringly.

"It's okay Beth, James saw me transform. I didn't know he was there—I thought I was alone. Anyway, he knows about you two as well—I just told him." As she was speaking, she watched Beth relax. Beth turned to Remus very slowly.

"Are you angry?" She whispered.

"Why would I be angry?" Remus said with a light smile on his face.

"Because I didn't tell you about being an Animagus," She replied. Remus shook his head and pulled her gently down into his lap.

"I could never be angry with you—never." He kissed her softly and she leaned back against him, contented. Jessie grinned and looked over at Lilly. She rolled her eyes before squealing:

"Sirius came and told us all about the fight! Then we had to explain to him about you—we kind of thought you'd be angry—I'm glad you aren't though." She was hyper—bouncing off the walls hyper. James looked at his watch; it was only 8:30—three hours left until the end of the ball. He was sure nobody would miss them. He stood up and ran upstairs, rummaged in his trunk, changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, then came back downstairs. Beth was sitting in Remus' lap and reading a book with Remus reading it over her shoulder, and Jessie and Sirius were having a Quidditch conversation. James walked over to Sirius, tapped him on the shoulder and whispered:

"Padfoot, cover for me; about three hours should do it." Sirius nodded, but otherwise, nobody would have known that he'd just been spoken to. James walked over to the couch and touched Lilly's shoulder. "Go upstairs and change your clothes. Try to put on something warm this time." He winked and she ran upstairs to get changed. She was back ten minutes later. James grabbed her hand and pulled her outside. In one hand he had a piece of rolled up parchment—in the other was a cloak made of shimmering fabric. James smiled at her and whispered;

"My father's invisibility cloak—it's helped the Marauders through quite a few rough spots."

"So that's how you got by with all those tricks..." Lilly watched as he threw the cloak around them both. She gasped when she saw—or didn't see—her legs disappear. As the portrait hole closed behind them, Lilly followed James down a few hallways and watched as James consulted the piece of parchment every few minutes. Once or twice he stopped and pulled Lilly behind a piece of armor or close to a wall, he'd wait for a moment, and then they'd walk on.

"James, where are we--?"

"Shh!" He hissed. In a few minutes, they stood outside a statue of a witch with one eye. He tapped the witch's hump and whispered:

"_Dissendium_," The hump slid open, and he helped Lilly inside before climbing in himself and closing the hump behind them.


	10. Sneaking Around Hogsmeade

(A/N: Hope you enjoy this next bit. Thanks for all the great things you're saying about my story—but remember, if there's something you don't like—let me know. I'm not just in this for the compliments. Um, somebody asked why they left the ball--well, they had just gotten in a fight and James didn't want Malfoy and his stupid Slythering buddies to come after Lilly again, so they went up to the common room!!

& Last But Not Least...

Pia--Go ahead! Use whatever you like; just remember to give me 50 of the royalties when you become a famous writer using my stuff. Haha, just kidding.)

* * *

Lilly dropped down into the passage. Within a few seconds, James had dropped down beside her. He pulled out his wand and muttered, "_Lumos"_, which lit up the tip of his wand. He grinned at her—a silly grin that made her laugh.

"What?" He grinned again, making Lilly laugh harder. Lilly just shook her head, smiling. She pointed to the piece of parchment in his hands.

"What is that?" She whispered.

"The Marauder's Map," James said proudly, "A _Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs_ product. We made it during our 5th year when we'd found all the secret passages in Hogwarts. It shows a full map of Hogwarts, and then it shows where everyone is. Like—look, Sirius and Jessie are in your room—erm—making out." James blushed to the roots of his hair, then tapped the parchment with his wand and muttered hoarsly, "Mischief managed." Lilly started giggling; everytime she looked at James' red face and grinning smile, she'd laugh even harder.

"What?" He asked playfully, dropping the lit wand onto the dirt floor of the passage. "Are you—making fun—of me?" He grabbed her and started tickling her sides, making her squeal.

"James! James—Stop!—That—tickles!!" Tears poured down her cheeks because she was laughing so hard. She dropped to her knees and rolled onto her back, pushing at James and trying to get him to stop.

"I'll stop on one condition--" He said, laughing so hard he could hardly get it out.

"James—Okay! Okay!!" She squealed, then breathed heavily after he let go. "Merlin James!" She gasped for breath, still laying on the floor with James on top of her. He leaned over her and planted a kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They sat there, kissing for awhile before they heard a noise above them. James leapt off her, pulled her up and muttered a spell to make his wand go out. He pulled Lilly off into the shadows and put a finger to his lips. They waited for what seemed like an hour before they stopped hearing noises from up above them. James grabbed Lilly's hand and they ran farther down the passage, stopping only when the light from the witch's hump could no longer be seen.

* * *

James slid the panel over the passageway over and hoisted himself up into the Honeydukes basement.

"Coast's clear." He whispered down to Lilly. She pulled herself through the hole in the floor and sat by James. After James placed the panel back over the opening, he took Lilly's hand and they went out onto the streets of Hogsmeade.

"It's so strange—"Lilly said as they walked down the main street with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, "—I've never been here when there aren't any students. It's much quieter—more peaceful, you know?" James nodded as they turned down a half street and continued walking.

"When I was little my parents used to bring me here. My uncle owned a Quidditch shop on the main road—where Zonko's is now—and we'd stay here for hours. There weren't any students—no noise—no trouble. It was great." He said quietly. They walked down the street in silence. Soon they'd walked past the gates to the village, up into the mountains, and into their cave. James sat on the floor and let Lilly sit between his legs, leaning back on him. They sat and talked for hours. They soon lost track of time and both fell asleep.

James woke up and shook his head. He didn't recognize his surroundings. _Where was he? Why couldn't he breathe? _He looked down and realized Lilly was still laying on his chest with her arms wrapped tightly around him. She was shivering. James put an arm around her shoulders and rubbed them. He happened to glance down at his watch and saw that it was five in the morning. He shook Lilly.  
"Lilly—wake up. We're going to be in so much trouble if we don't get back to Hogwarts in the next half hour!" Lilly jumped up and caught his hand. They ran down through the village, into Honeydukes, down the passageway, and towards the other end. James snatched up the invisibility cloak that he had left at the bottom of the passage along with the Marauder's Map and glanced at it.

"C'mon." He grabbed Lilly's hand and soon they found themselves outside of the witch statue. They hurried down the halls, thankfully avoiding people, and stumbled into the common room, where they found Remus, Beth, Sirius, and Jessie waiting for them, asleep.


	11. A Fight To Remember

After the Yule Ball, everything started to get dull and monotonous for the three couples. Except for the Marauder's pranks, which the girls sometimes helped with, life was the same, day after day after day. Finally, about three days before Valentine's Day, something exciting happened. Well, maybe not exciting, but at least a break from the dull lives the students had been living for the past month and a half.

* * *

That morning, Jessie overslept. Beth and Lilly had a terrible time waking her up, since she was such a heavy sleeper. Lilly finally grabbed her wand, frusterated, and shot water into Jessie's snoring face.

"AH!! Huh? What happened?!" She jumped out of bed—soaked to the skin—and looked around. "LILLY!" She moaned, her teeth chattering. Lilly and Beth laughed and pushed her quickly towards the showers. She showered, dressed, did her makeup and hair in less than 20 minutes, which is quiet a big feat for a girl of her age. The three girls grabbed their bookbags and ran downstairs, where the boys were supposed to meet them. When they reached the end of the staircase, Remus and Sirius were waiting. Lilly looked over their shoulders, behind her, and up the boy' staircase, expecting James to come running down apologizing:

"Sorry I'm late!" But there was no apology—in fact, there was no James.

"James must have already gone down to the Great Hall," Remus said, as though he were reading her thoughts. "He wasn't in our room when we woke up this morning." Lilly nodded and followed Sirius, Jessie, Remus and Beth to the Great Hall, feeling lonelier than she ever had. _Why didn't James wait for me? Did I do something wrong? Is he angry? What's going on? He always waits for me...._

* * *

Soon her thoughts were interrupted though by the sound of voices in the foyer outside the Great Hall.  
"...Yeah, we got him. He's upstairs. No, don't worry about it, he's perfectly fine—won't shut up in fact—"Narcissa Black, a Slytherin 6th year, was saying to a 7th year named Lucus Flint. When he saw Lilly and the rest approaching, he slapped his hand over Narcissa's mouth and sneered at them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Black, Lupin, and their whores..." Flint hissed as Narcissa turned around to face the group. Remus threw out an arm to keep an angry Sirius from attacking the stupid Slytherin. Jessie and Beth grabbed onto both his arms and threw all their weight into keeping him away from Lucus.

"You're a disgrace to the family name—a disgrace to the name 'wizard'. Hanging around with these stupid Mudbloods and muggle-lovers..." Narcissa moved closer, as if to taunt Sirius. Beth's jaw dropped at the use of the word Mudblood, and Jessie's jaw tightened, since both were Muggle born.

"We have a different idea of what disgraces the name 'wizard', dear cousin." Sirius spat out, relaxing a bit. Remus stepped between Sirius and Narcissa, who were glaring at each other, hissing rude remarks between them.  
"Filthy bitch...."

"Mudblood lover—I bet if you had the chance you'd let Mudbloods rule the wizarding world..."

"All you care about is your damn money, your stupid family image...well you keep your damn ideas about Muggles to yourself, bitch..." Sirius was turning red from the strain against Jessie and Beth. Narcissa took a step back and folded her arms across her chest, smirking. She turned and walked away. She stopped in front of Lilly, looking her up and down.

"Where's Potter?" She asked mockingly, "I'm so used to you being his stupid little slut. It's weird seeing you with one of these—Mudblood lovers. Well I'm sorry Evans, but James is all—_tied—_up at the moment, I'm afraid he's to busy for you." Lilly turned away and faced the wall. Remus came over and put his arm around her, gently nudging her over to where Sirius, Jessie, and Beth were standing.

"Narcissa, that's 30 points from Slytherin, for picking a fight with the Gryffindors." Narcissa grinned wickedly and rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you just take your Mudblood whore and do us all a favor—shoot her." She hissed. In an instant, Jessie let go of Sirius and lunged at Narcissa, Sirius went after Flint, Lilly jumped on top of Narcissa, pulling her hair and scratching at her while Jessie punched at her, and Remus ran over to Beth, who was on the floor in a dead faint. He turned around, fury slashed across his face, and raised his wand. He fired to shots into the air and raised his voice loudly—something so uncommon for Remus, it caused everyone to stop.

"QUIET!" He yelled. They all stopped, stared, frozen where they were. Flint, on the floor, being pounded by Sirius, had blood pouring from his face. Narcissa was holding her nose and about to hit Lilly, Jessie was against the wall, nursing a broken wrist and a huge gash running down her arm from Narcissa's ring. Remus walked between them all, picking Flint and Narcissa up off the floor, throwing them towards the corridor to their common room and saying in a dangerously low voice:

"Get back to your common rooms. Sixty points deducted from Slytherin for starting a fight—"

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT—"Flint hollered.

"FIFTY MORE FOR TALKING BACK TO THE HEAD BOY—"Remus yelled louder. Flint glared at him, and then grabbed Narcissa's arm and they disappeared from sight.


	12. Slipping and Burning

(A/N: This chapter didn't turn out exactly like I'd liked it to, but I still think it's okay—sickening—but okay.)

* * *

Remus shook his head and knelt down by Beth. He picked her up and carried her off to the hospital wing. Lilly stood up and held her hand to her bloody nose before looking at Jessie, whose eye was starting to swell and lips were cut. But worst off, by far, was Sirius. His arms were scratched up, he had a split lip and he lay on the floor hunched over holding his side.

"We'd better get you to the hospital wing," Jessie said as she motioned for Lilly to help pick him up. "It looks like you've got a few broken ribs there."

"I'm fine." Sirius grimaced when he tried to straighten up, "Just a couple scratches." He said horsely. The whole group followed Remus towards the hospital wing. After they'd left Sirius and Beth in the hospital wing, Remus and Lilly went off to get some breakfast. Jessie stayed behind with Sirius. As they walked down the hallway, Remus, still looking wild-eyed and angry, said:

"You know Lilly, you shouldn't have gotten into that fight—"

"I know. I'm head girl and I'm supposed to be bigger than they are; but when they said that to you about Beth, I couldn't help it Remus."

"I know— I hope Beth's okay. You know—she was talking to me the other night. I mentioned the fact that she's fainted quite a bit this year, and she told me she had a problem. Something about her blood—I didn't understand. I hope she's alright though. When she fell she hit her head on the floor pretty hard...Ha, I can't believe Sirius got three broken ribs. Flint must have layed into him pretty hard."

"They'll be fine Remus. They'll all be out in a—"Lilly stopped. She heard a light beating on the walls. _Get me out of here! _The voice was so faint, she didn't think she heard it at all, until Remus leaned over and whispered—

"Lilly? Did you hear---"

"Yeah, c'mon. The Slytherins probably put one of the first years in the vanishing cupboard again..." She said, pushing up her sleeves and pulling out her wand. "Let's go."

They turned down the hallway and started following the sound.

* * *

Meanwhile, James blinked his swollen eyes open.

"Sirius? Remus? Lil—"Then he remembered.

He'd been going down to the kitchens to get himself a drink—he did so almost every night. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt something on the back of his neck. He whipped around—looking up, he saw a face covered with a black hood—it was tall—dark—frightening. The first thing that popped into his mind was 'Dementor!'...but he was wrong. The hooded figure grabbed him, two more ran around the corner as they heard James' muffled yell. Before James' realized it, he was here—in this room. This cold, dark, damp room where he was tied up in a wooden chair and watching the fire blaze in the hearth. He moaned. His whole body hurt from being beaten, and then being slumped over in the chair asleep. His arms were tied up behind the chair, his legs crossed and bound to the legs of the seat. A few minutes passed, with nothing happening.

"Is anybody there?" He raised his voice, which cracked from lack of water. A door James hadn't noticed before swung open. Auguste Crabbe stood there—glaring at him—still wearing the huge black cloaks, but he had taken off the hood. James looked past him into the small stone room behind him. Lucius Malfoy, Marcus Goyle, and Regulus Black all sat around a small wooden table in the center of the room, in front of a blazing fire. Narcissa Black was perched on Malfoy's knee, smiling at him and running her hands through his hair. Malfoy hadn't even realized that Crabbe had left the table. He was too focused on the gorgeous blonde perched on his lap. She had her legs on either side of his knees—facing him—and he had both of his hands on her bottom. Her sweater was gone, thrown on the floor beside the chair, and her shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a red, lacy bra and a full, large chest. She leaned forward, and he pulled her roughly towards him. When she moved, Malfoy's eyes happened to lock with James'. He finished the kiss, closing his eyes again, then lifted Narcissa off his lap and stood up. His eyes flashed as he glared at James.

"Potter—you decided to wake up. Lovely—"He grabbed something off the table and stuffed it into his black robes. He started walking towards James—smugly, grinning and holding his head high. He motioned for Crabbe to follow him; Regulus stood and followed, uninvited, into the room. Malfoy walked straight over to James and crouched in front of him. He jerked his head towards Crabbe, who immediatley ran over and gagged Potter, jerking him roughly.

"Potter—what's wrong? Don't you like that? It's about time somebody gagged that foul, muggle-loving mouth of yours. You're a disgrace to wizard. You don't deserve to be at Hogwarts...none of you mudblood loving freaks should be here. By the way--is this yours?" He pulled a mahogony wand from inside his robes—James immediately registered it as his. It contained 1 phoenix feather and an ounce of stag hoof. James strained against his bindings, trying to get his wand back. In the wizarding world—especially in situations such as these—it was a bad idea to be without a wand. A very bad idea. He watched Malfoy stood, walking towards the blazing fire.

"I wonder—"Malfoy said spitefully, "What would the great James Potter be without his wand? What would happen if someone's hand just slipped—"He held the hand containing James' wand over the fire, holding it just between his fingertips. James strained even harder against his bindings. One word flashed through his mind—_bastard. _Lucius grinned maliciously. He loosened his hold on the wand, and it fell, as if in slow motion, into the flames. The fire erupted, leaping high into the fireplace, licking at the stones in the floo. James fell back into his chair—shocked. His wand—the wand he'd had since he was a first year—reduced to cinders in an instant. A lone tear ran down his cheek, soon absorbed by the blue bandanna tied around his mouth. Malfoy grinned, laughed, left the room. James listened as he told Crabbe to guard the stone room where James was being held prisoner. He turned towards Narcissa, who was busy pulling the shirt straight and adjusting her bra. She tossed her blonde hair and smiled at Lucius, softly biting her lips. He grinned greedily, then sat in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him. She climbed back on his lap, removed his cloak and started unbuttoning his shirt. He lifted her into his arms, and carried her through a door into the next room. It banged shut behind them. Regulus grinned at Goyle and they resumed playing cards.

"That's my darling cousin—"He said wickedly. Crabbe still stood by the open door, leaning against it, playing with his wand. After a few moments, moans were heard from next door—playful screams, yelps, laughing and giggling. James gagged, looking away from the door. Soon after they heard Narcissa yell.

"LUCIUS!" She moaned loudly again, then all was quiet. About ten minutes later, Malfoy emerged from the room, buttoning his pants. His shirt was unbuttoned, exposing his muscular, if somewhat pale, chest. James looked over Malfoy's shoulder into the room he'd just come from. Narcissa was lying on a huge bed, with the door open. Narcissa rolled over and sat up on the bed, letting the sheet fall from her shoulders, exposing her breasts. She pulled on her bra, panties, and shirt, leaving it unbuttoned, and walked back into the room with Malfoy and the boys. She perched herself on Malfoys lap once again, and James turned away—gagging at the sight, but without realizing why, wishing he could be with Lilly.


	13. Following Feeling

Lilly and Remus were following the yells, when suddenly—they stopped. They didn't hear anything for about ten minutes, then they heard a group laughing followed by an angry yell. Remus slowed and waited for Lilly to catch up with him. He slipped his arm behind her back, keeping his hand near her waist in a brotherly, protective way.

"Stay close to me," He whispered. "_Lumos_," He held his wand at arms-length in front of him. They walked down the dark hallway for a few minutes when Remus felt Lilly go stiff.

"Down here," She grabbed his hand and jerked him down another corridor, starting to feel scared. Lilly led Remus down corridors, turning every few minutes.

"Lilly—where are we—"Remus started to ask, but he was cut off by Lilly shushing him from in front. Lilly kept following the corridors, not knowing where she was going, but just _knowing_ that James could be found if she followed these halls. She felt flashes of fear, hate, dread, disgust, and longing, although she didn't know why. All of a sudden, she stopped and fell to her knees.

"Lilly? Lilly!" Remus fell down beside her. She held her face in her hands and had tears running down her cheeks. "What's wrong? Lilly!" Remus picked her up off the floor and she straightened up, wiping her cheeks with her sleeves. Ducking down, she picked up her wand and started following the corridors again.

"I think I'm feeling what James is feeling. Somethings happened that's making him miserable. I saw a flash of a hand holding a wand over flames...I—I think somebody just burned his wand." Remus looked at her strangely, but didn't say anything. Soon, Lilly skidded to a halt outside a portrait hole.

"He's in there?" Remus whispered, coming up behind her. Lilly nodded. "That's Slytherins common room." Lilly nodded again.

"You know the password right?" She said quietly, "Since you're Head Boy." She seemed to snap out of her daze and grinned, "Wait a minute, I'm Head Girl. Ha!" She thought for a moment, then said "_Cunning Candies". _

The portrait hole swung open and Lilly and Remus stepped inside. They looked around the common room—empty. Loud moans came from upstairs, so they ran up the stairs and burst through a door at the end of the hall.

"WHAT THE!?" Lucius Malfoy leapt out of his chair as the door ripped open. Narcissa fell off his lap and scrambled over to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Lilly Evans walked towards Malfoy with her wand stuck out in front of her, her hand shaking slightly. Remus got Crabbe, Goyle, and Regulus backed against the opposite wall, threatening them with his wand.

"Please don't hurt me, you stupid Mudblood." Lucius grinned maliciously and walked towards her. It was almost as if he was challenging her—challenging her to do him harm. Lilly glared at Malfoy.

"Where's James?" She hissed; her eyes turned to slits and her hand was still shaking.

"L'y?!" Lilly snapped her head up from Lucius and looked towards a door that was half-open. James sat there, tied up, with a blue bandana stuffed in his mouth.

"JAMES!" Lilly, still grasping her wand, started to run past Malfoy to James, but he stepped in front of her before she could.

"Evans—Didn't your bitchy little Mudblood mother ever tell you not to trespass? That's what you're doing right now—trespassing." Lilly seethed with anger—she tried to control it, but she couldn't—she exploded.

"How DARE you call my mother a bitch OR a Mudblood! You dirty, rotten, piece of bloody slime!" Before anyone realized what she was doing, she pointed her wand at the ceiling and looked towards Malfoy. _"Destructus,"_ She muttered, and as she did, bits of the ceiling started sprinkling down onto the shoulders of the group. Remus muttered a spell that tied the five Slytherins together (including Narcissa) and ran towards the room James was in. Together, Lilly and Remus got James untied and ran out of the Slytherin dormitory, just as the ceiling collapsed.

"James? Are you alright? Did they hurt you? What happened? What did they do? Merlin, I was so worried!" Lilly cried as they finally sat down on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, dusty and scratched up, but otherwise whole. She threw her arms around James' neck and cried into his shirt. Remus noted that they needed some alone time, so he volunteered to go hang out with the rest of the gang in the hospital wing. James and Lilly sat, holding each other, for a long time, until Lilly pulled away slightly so she could look up into James' face. It was dusty, dirty, scratched, and bruised, but she still thought it was handsome. She reached her hand up and pushed his messy hair out of the way before sitting up and kissing him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She said, looking him over again.

"Lilly, I'm fine." He said, rubbing her back reasurringly. "I'm just a little stiff is all..." Lilly sighed, relieved, and sat back against his chest.

"I'm so glad—when you didn't meet us this morning I was so worried. I—"

"Lilly—they burned my wand." Lilly sat up and looked up at James.

"They did? I thought so." She whispered as she put her arms around his and let him lean onto her shoulder. She felt insecure being the one reassuring _him_; usually it was the other way round.

"How could you know?" James said after a minute.

"I don't know—"Lilly whispered. "It was like—I was feeling your thoughts, it sounds strange, but that's how we found you, I followed the halls, navigating by feeling where you were." It did sound absurd, but it was the truth. She sighed.

"I wish this year wasn't so difficult. I wanted it to be nice—just us. Just—you know—this." She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and nuzzled against his chest.

"Me too, Babe, that's all I ever wanted too." He said, kissing the top of her head, and smiling for the first time that day.


	14. Late Nights

Lilly blinked her eyes open and yawned. Sun spilled in through the window above her bed and hit her square in the face.

"Ugh..." She rolled over and threw her pillow over her face to block out the sun's 'Good Mornings'. She was about to go back to sleep when she felt Beth nudge her.

"C'Mon Lilly! James has been waiting for over a half hour!" Beth said in her ear. Lilly shot up and looked at the clock—9 o'clock.

"BETH! I'm not supposed to meet James till' 10! Why didn't you let me sleep? I'm going back to bed."

"Oh well, you're up now. Come on! Get READY!" Beth gave a tug on her arm and jerked Lilly out of bed. She tumbled to the floor in a pile of sheets, quilts, and pillows. Getting up, she brushed off her pajama bottoms and stood up.

"Where's Jess?" She asked, noticing the other bed was empty. Beth grinned and laughed.

"She didn't come in at ALL last night. She must have had a late date with Sirius." She replied. Both girls giggled before hurrying to get ready to meet the boys.

Remus, James, Lilly, and Beth were on the sofa in the common room talking about what had happened to the Slytherins that had attacked James. Sadly, none of them died, all lived. When the walls had started caving in, the boys tried to use magic to hold them up. All the spells didn't work though, and they ended up with some odd injuries indeed. Malfoy had gotten a Jelly Legs Jinx that was way out of control. He couldn't stop tap dancing, no matter what he did. Regulus was turned Purple. Really—his skin was dyed purple, and nothing Madam Pomfrey did would turn it back. Goyle and Crabbe had huge zits everywhere---_everywhere._ Lilly and Beth laughed as James and Remus did impressions of Lucius Malfoy and Regulus Black. They heard giggling from out in the hallway and turned to see who it was. Sirius climbed inside the portrait hole, carrying a sleeping Jessie in his arms. She was wearing one of Sirius' Quidditch t-shirts and a pair of boxers. He turned pink when he saw Remus, Beth, James, and Lilly laughing at him from the couch.

"_Go Padfoot!" _James mouthed wordlessly. Lilly playfully slapped his arm. He grinned at her, and then turned back around to face the fire, putting his arm around her and pulling her close. Beth giggled and Remus tightened his grip on her waist as Sirius carried Jessie up to her dorm.

"Looks like Sirius and Jessie had quite a night..." Beth said, gasping for breath because she was laughing so hard. Remus grinned—he hadn't seen Beth laughing this hard for so long—it was a good change.

Within a few minutes, Sirius had showered, dressed, and returned downstairs. .

"Don't say a word—"He mumbled awkwardly as he saw James staring at him with a silly grin on his face.

"Did you do it mate?" James said with a grin.

"JAMES ALEXANDER POTTER!!" Lilly gasped, "What did you just say?!" James and Remus started laughing and Beth looked rather disgusted.

"Not do IT. Sirius was going to propose last night." Remus said between breaths. Lilly turned pink and shrank down into her chair.

"Oh...hehe, that's sweet Sirius..." She muttered as James pulled her closer towards him. Beth looked down at Remus and smiled.

"Two down, one to go..." She whispered to Remus, reaching down to touch the end of the chain that hung around her neck, tucked in her sweater. Her engagement ring hung on the end of it...they were going to wait to announce their getting married. Remus smiled up at her and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"I love you," He whispered.

"I love you too..." She said, before she was interrupted by James and Lilly's laughing. Sirius had tried to sit down in the armchair opposite Remus and missed the chair. He was currently sitting on his butt—on the floor—glaring at James and Lilly.

"We'd better get out of here Lils, he doesn't look to happy with us." James whispered in her ear. She nodded. He grabbed her hand and ran out of the common room.

" So where do you want to go?" James asked as they roamed down the halls.

"I don't know. Let's go somewhere private." She said grinning at him and giving his hand a little squeeze. James closed his eyes and thought:

_Room of Requirement, we need a private place to erm---talk—yeah, talk._

A door popped up in front of him and they disappeared through it. The room inside was decorated with rich reds and yellows and oranges. There were couches that were low to the floor, mounds of pillows, and rather large bed in the corner. The walls were draped with silk, the windows were tall, yet covered by red silk curtains, Lights baubles hung from the ceiling and the air had a certain spicy scent.

"Oh James—this is great." Lilly said, letting go of James' hand and walking over to a mound of pillows. She primly sat down on it and looked around as she took off her school jacket. James just grinned as he flopped down next to her. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. She blushed as he growled deep in his throat and wrapped his arms around her waist, falling back into the pillows and taking her with him. She reached up and pulled off his already loosened tie, throwing it towards a couch at the other end. All of a sudden, the lights dimmed and Lilly gasped, pulling off of James. He sat up as well, looking around. The lights had dimmed and candles made a softer, more romantic light. They were lit everywhere, making the air even spicier. Lilly smiled at James and put her arms around his neck, leaning her forehead on his.

"James, you're one hell of a guy." She whispered, kissing his cheeks, going down his face to his neck. "I love you." He just wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and pulled her face up to meet with his gaze.

"And you're one hell of a girl Lils." He kissed her softly, but as he pulled back, she grabbed his shirt and jerked her towards him, kissing him hard.

"James—I--I'm ready."

About an hour later, Remus, Sirius, and Beth still sat in the common room, talking about the upcoming graduation.

"It's going to be horrible—"Beth said, cuddling closer to Remus. "We'll never see each other again."

"Of course we will Sweetheart, we'll see each other so much we'll get sick of each other." Remus said, brushing a piece of hair off her face.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to eat dinner _somewhere_!" Sirius grinned, and then turned as he heard someone on the stairs. Jessie emerged from the girls' dorm. She had changed into her school robes.

"Hey Guys," She said quietly, blushing and hurrying over to Sirius. He scooched over in the chair and she curled up next to him.

"Hey Jess..." Beth gave her on over-exaggerated wink and smiled. Jessie's cheeks flamed and Sirius laughed.

"It's okay Babe, I'm sure we're going to be making fun of Lilly and Prongs in awhile anyway—"He said reassuringly.

"Why?"

"The minute I sat down, James grabbed Lilly's wrist and they ran off like Bludgers. Give you one guess where they're going—"

"--The Room of Requirement--" Remus and Sirius finished together.

"How do you know?" Beth asked.

"Because—that's where James _always_ goes for something important. That's where he asked her out, that's where he asked her to go to the Yule Ball, that's where he always apologizes for being a bloody asshole, that's where he's going to—"

"_Ahem...." _Somebody cleared their voice from behind them and they all jumped around. James stood there, hands crossed over chest, glaring at Sirius.

"---hehehe, Where's Lilly Prongs?" He said meekly, shrinking into his chair.

"She's—erm—she's busy—"He said, turning pink and running his hand through his hair. He jumped and turned around as the Fat Lady's portrait swung open.

"James, silly, I'm right here!" Lilly said, appearing through the portrait hole. Her cheeks were pink, and her hair was slightly messy, but otherwise she looked perfectly fine. As he breezed by him towards her dorm she muttered:

"Meet me upstairs in five minutes and for goodness sake, zip up your fly."


	15. A Dream Come True

With only three weeks left until graduation, everyone was getting a little stressed. Beth felt she couldn't possibly contain her excitement about her engagement much longer—plus her friends were getting suspicious. She was acting happier than ever, and both girls were starting to wonder why. Remus however insisted on keeping the engagement secret. He was concerned about Lilly—he wasn't sure that James was going to propose after all, and if both of _her_ **best** friends married _his_ **best** friends and she was left out in the cold, she would surely feel horrible. Sirius and Jessie went along happy as usual. They didn't act as though they were engaged, althought they were, making no plans, but enjoying their last few weeks at Hogwarts. Lilly was stressed. The graduation plans were killing her, she was so tired, she fell asleep the moment she curled up in James' arms at night—just as she had done during the Yule Ball. James was stressed as well—but for completely different reasons. He didn't want to hurt Lilly, but he wasn't ready to get married yet—he was just a kid. At night when they were in the common room, with her curled up asleep in his arms, her hair blazing red in the firelight, he felt as though he could stay that way forever. But during the day, when he was out playing Quidditch and joking around with Sirius and Remus, marriage was the last thing on his mind. Lilly pushed ahead with her work as usual. She wasn't really ready to get married, she wanted to wait for awhile, but knowing that James loved her enough to propose would have been wonderful. She was so confused, so lost whenever he was around; she never knew what to do. As graduation approached the six seniors watched each other and waited; praying for time and patience and understanding.

* * *

The night before graduation, the girls were cleaning out their dorm rooms for the last time—removing any sign of their existance. The walls they had taken all day to paint a dark purple with glow in the dark painted stars had to be returned to it's Gryffindor Lion Red, their posters had to be taken down, their clothes, linens, and toiletries packed, their photos and special momentos had to be taken off the shelves. While Beth and Jessie went on one last run to Hogsmeade with their dates, Lilly carefully placed the pictures of her friends she had collected over the past few years into a box in her room. She stopped for a few moments to look at them; A picture of Jessie and Beth throwing pillows at each other, with their hair in curlers and cotton balls wedged between their drying polished nails—taken in fifth year—made Lilly stop and watch for a moment. The two girls waved up at Lilly, then resumed their fight. Lilly placed the card in the box and took another one off the shelf. This was one of all six of them, taken before she and James had started dating earlier this year. Remus and Beth were smiling at each other, Sirius and Jessie snogging as usual, and she and James were sneaking nervous glances at one another. She laughed quietly and picked a bundle of pictures tied together with string—the ones of her and James. Sirius had snuck downstairs with his old wizard's camara and taken a few pictures of her and James on the sofa in the common room. There was some where she was asleep in his arms, others where he was kissing her, others where they were just downright flirting. While the James in the picture leaned over and tickled her ribs, she smiled, remembering how great he was. She heard someone coming up the staircase, so she shoved the bundle into the shoebox and slammed the lid over it.

"Hey." James said, coming around the corner from the staircase. Lilly turned around and smiled at him, putting the box on her bed and pulling herself up off the floor.

"Hey, why aren't you with Sirius and Remus?" Lilly asked after he gave her a quick kiss before sitting on her bed. He pulled her towards him so she sat on his lap. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"They're with Jessie and Beth, meaning no date—no friends. I almost asked that hot Slytherin, Narcissa, to go with me—" He whispered into her ear. Lilly turned around and slapped his knee, lightly, but slapped it all the same. "Hey! That hurt!" James always pretended to be hurt when she hit him, even though they both knew it didn't hurt him in the least.

"That was cruel." Lilly pouted and started to get off his lap. He grabbed her waist and pulled her back down.  
"You didn't let me finish…I was going to say—'but she'd be nothing compared to you; I'd miss you too much." He kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Oh James—please. That is _such _a line." She laughed, but returned his kiss with a few more of her own. After a brief make-out session, James knelt by Lilly on the floor and picked the box up from where it had fallen after being knocked off the bed. He glanced at the pictures, rifling through them quickly until he came to a picture Lilly had taken when she was younger.

"Lilly? This is me playing Quidditch in 4th year. Why would you have this? You hated me in 4th year!" He said, showing her the picture. She took it and blushed.

"James, I've had a horrible crush on you since you saved me from dancing with Severus Snape at the Yule Ball, and probably before then." James grinned and squeezed her waist.

"So—you er—had a crush on me for three years? So I'm a dream come true?" He growled in her ear.

"Yes…" Lilly said, turning around and kissing him on the lips, throwing her arms around his neck and savoring the moment.


	16. Graduation

The Great Hall had been decorated extravagantly for the graduation. Silks hung from the ceiling in deep reds, frosty blues, fired oranges, and fresh greens. The House tables had been removed and chairs put in their place, with an aisle parting the sea of chairs. There was a dull roar coming from the crowd of family and friends of the graduates as they waited for the ceremony to begin. The nervous 7th years crowded at the back of the Hall, eagerly awaiting their turn to accept their diplomas. James, Remus, Sirius, Lilly, Beth, and Jessie stood close to the back of the group, waiting their turns as well. James held Lilly's shaking hand firmly in his and smiled at her.

"You okay?" He whispered quietly.

"N-No…James, I can't do this." She looked like she was about to cry as she turned her face to his.

"You can and you will…I'll be there the whole time." The graduates started moving, the line inching forward. James heard Lilly give a quiet moan.

"What if I trip and fall?" She bit her lip and watched the line inch forward again. James couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry—I'll catch you," He managed to say as they started walking up the aisle. They got to the podium in the front of the Hall with no tripping, falling, or any other sufficiantly awkward occurances. James glanced at Lilly who was flushed and nervously biting her lip. He grinned, and then turned back to Dumbledore.

* * *

Twenty minutes past before-- 

"Mr. James Alexander Potter," Dumbledore's voice boomed through the Hall. "Co-captain of the Quiddich team, graduating with special honors in Defense against the Dark Arts." James squeezed Lilly's hand before walking up the steps and accepting Dumbledore's outstretched hand. "Good luck Mr. Potter. I wish you all the best in the life you have chosen. Always remember to go with your heart, especially when concerning the hearts and feelings of others." Dumbledore said as he gave James his diploma. James looked confused, but when Dumbledore subtly jerked his head in Lilly's direction, James understood. …_Follow your heart, especially when concerning the hearts and feelings of others…. _

"Thank you sir." He said to Dumbledore, nodding to show he understood, then walking across the stage and sitting by Beth, Sirius, and Jessie, who had already gotten their diplomas.

"Miss Lilly Halie Evans," James heard as he sat down. He turned and watched as Lilly made her way up onto the stage, glancing over at him for reasurrance. He winked and she smiled. As she reached Dumbledore and stretched out her hand, Dumbledore said, "Voted Best-All-Around by her teachers and friends, graduating with Honors in Charms and Defense against the Dark Arts." James cheered at the top of his lungs along with his friends as Lilly, with eyes wide, accepted the diploma, shook Dumbledore's hand and hurried to her seat next to James. She sat down and stared at the diploma in her hand.

"Congrads, Miss All-Around-Evans," James whispered as he kissed her cheek and gave her a quick squeeze 'round the waist. "You deserve it." He was interrupted by a loud scream in his ear. Beth jumped out of her seat and applauded. James and Lilly looked towards Dumbledore and saw Remus there, with the Valedictorian's Medal around his neck. Dumbledore was congradulating him and wishing him the best. James and Lilly jumped out of their seats and appplauded with the rest of the roaring crowd. Dumbledore whispered something in Remus' ear, so Remus turned and waved at the crowd, blushing and holding his cap in hand along with his diploma. He walked over to where the rest of the graduates were sitting and returned his cap to his head; only to have it knocked off again when Beth jumped into his arms and planted a kiss square on his lips. Everyone laughed and they both turned pink; but after retrieving his hat from the floor, they sat in their seats as happy as ever.

* * *

After the graduation ceremony, all the graduates headed up to their common rooms for their last night at Hogwarts. When the portrait hole pulled back, it revealed a sign someone had hung, _Congratulations Remus and Lilly!_

"James! Did you—" James shook his head innocently, but gave himself away in his grin.

"Nope—must be the ghosts."

"Oh James! Please!" She squealed, slipping her arm around his waist as he led her over to the sofa in front of the fire, their usual spot. Everyone else piled in behind them and the party began. The last kids finally left the common room at three the following morning, leaving the Maurauders and their girlfriends in front of the fire once again. Everyone else was asleep when Lilly leaned over and whispered in James' ear.

"You know whats strange?" She asked, watching as Beth moaned and stretched her arm across Remus' chest.

"Hmm?"

"We'll never get to do this again. No more late-night talks--no more sneaking off to get food from the kitchens--nothing..." She faded off as she sat up and looked into James' face. "What about us?"

"What do you mean babe?"

"Will we still be together in two months or what?" As she said this, James smiled softly and put his arms around her.

"Of course we will. In fact--" James pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, "--What do you think?"


	17. Serious and Sirius

Lilly opened the paper and looked down. It was the property listings out of the _Daily_ _Prophet_. There were a few properties circled, but one, in the center of the page was circled so many times the paper was worn through.

"James—you aren't serious…" Lilly said, looking at the small flat that was circled on the paper.

"Lilly, how long have you known me? I'm _always_ serious…"

"Huh? Who's calling me?" Sirius rolled over and looked at James, "What do you want mate?" James chuckled and waved his hand at Sirius.

"Never mind Padfoot," With that, Sirius rolled over and wrapped his arm back across Jessie's waist.

"Well? What do you think?" James asked, turning back to Lilly. "Look, I know—I know you're upset that I haven't proposed to you…"

"What?!" Lilly yelped, "No, oh no, James." James smiled as Lilly tried to deny it. He put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay, I've been talking to Beth. She says you've been a little off ever since Sirius and Jess announce their engagement, and I've got to say, I've noticed too. Lilly, it's not that I don't want to marry you, because I do, I do more than anything…I just want to make sure we'll be okay. I want to make sure we're both settled, and have jobs, and are ready to—" He cleared his throat and blushed slightly, "—and we're ready to raise a family." He paused for a minute, loosened his tie, and gently took the paper away from Lilly. He put it on the sofa between them and pulled a small silver ring out of his pocket. It wasn't much—a silver band with an emerald and two small diamonds in the center. He slipped it on her finger. "This way we'll be engaged to be engaged." He whispered, "It was my mother's, and her mother's before that, now I want you to have it." Lilly smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you James. Thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me. I can't believe we're engaged!" She squealed, cuddling closer to him and looking at the ring.

"I know it isn't much, the flat that is, but I thought we could start out small, you know, just the two of us. It'll be great Lil."

"I know it will, James. Thank you, for everything. I don't know what I would do without you." She put her arm across his waist and sighed, "I'm going to miss this couch." She yawned.

"Me too," He tapped her on the shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Hmm?"

"Lils, what would you think if—you know, we erm—we opened that shop you're always talking about?" James said, running his index finger over her arm. He knew she'd always wanted to open up a book shop/ café. She loved books and she loved coffee, and she constantly talked about the little shop she would hopefully own one day.

"We couldn't afford it, don't worry, I'm still working on it anyway—" Lilly muttered.

"The flat is over an empty shop in Diagon Alley." Lilly's eyes fluttered open and she, once again, sat up quickly.

"James—you're joking! I get my shop? Oh, James!" She threw her arms around his neck and started laughing and crying into his shirt. "This is too much, way too much!"

Lilly laughed so loudly, everyone else was soon awake and wanting to know what was going on. So James and Lilly repeated their story, smiling and holding hands and glowing.


	18. Looking Back

"And that's how it was. You're parents were amazing people, Harry, and I only wish you could've known them." Remus Lupin said as he gazed into the fire at number twelve, Grimmauld Place in London, Order of the Phoenix headquarters.

"Wow," Harry Potter seemed dazed, tired, and alone as he digested what Remus had just told him. After a few minutes, Harry shrugged and looked back at Remus.

"Well, I know what happened to my parents, Sirius, and Jessie. They were killed. What happened to Beth and Jessie?" Harry asked, rubbing his arms as if he were cold. He wasn't, he'd just gotten a sudden chill for some reason.

"Well, about two years after we graduated, Sirius and Beth were about to get married. They waited a long time, because, well—neither one really wanted to be tied down. They loved each other mind you—very much—but they couldn't come to terms with the fact that they would be married—stuck for life. So they waited. Well, one day, Sirius came home from Quiddtich practice—he was on the community league, just for fun you know—and Jessie was gone. She'd just disappeared. Sirius looked for her for months—almost a year, before they finally found her. She had been tortured by Voldemort, so badly in fact that she had lost her mind—much like Frank and Alice Longbottom. Somehow she got away from him, nobody knows how, but he found her in St. Mungo's—insanity ward. He stuck by her firmly, but after a few months, she died. It almost killed him. Then, exactly one year after she died, you were born. That helped Sirius a little, we'd all gather at James and Lilly's and hold you, talk to you, lay around like we used to at Hogwarts, and he seemed to relax a little, act like his old self. We thought everything was okay—he wasn't his old self, mind you, but he laughed sometimes, and started eating again." Remus took a breath and shrugged slightly. "Then your parents were killed. I was, of course, heartbroken, as was Sirius. But I had Beth to comfort me—Sirius had no one. And what I didn't know until your 3rd year, was that Peter was, in fact, their secret keeper, not Sirius. I was very angry and confused after I thought Sirius had betrayed Lilly and James and I was even more upset when he was taken to Azkaban. When I saw him again, I was relieved and unbelievably happy to find that he hadn't been the one that killed them—your parents that is." He stopped speaking, staring into the fire once again. Harry was quiet too, at first, but after a few minutes, he couldn't restrain himself for asking one last question.

"And Beth?" He whispered, so quietly that he thought Remus hadn't heard him. As he was about to ask again, Remus ran his hand over his face and looked at the floor. Harry noticed he looked tired, weary, almost old in fact.

"Dead—Voldemort attacked our home—He wanted me to join the Dark Side, you know, since I was a werewolf, but I wouldn't. I was scared, for three years I lived in fear that I would come home and everything would be gone. Then, one day it happened. I came home and found her dead. Nothing else was disturbed—she was just lying in the kitchen, on floor, still in her apron. She must have been fixing my lunch and he broke in. Actually, the way he killed her was generous. No pain, no suffering, just death. I left England then and went to America, but Dumbledore sent for me at the beginning of your 3rd year, sensing something was about to happen. He wanted me at Hogwarts, so I went, and you know the rest…" Harry nodded to show he understood. They sat in silence for what must have been the better part of half an hour before there was a knock on the door. Tonks and Hermione poked their heads in. They saw the somber expressions on Harry and Remus' faces and walked in.  
"Are you two alright?" Hermione asked. Remus looked at Tonks and smiled thankfully.

"We're fine. I was just filling James—I mean—Harry—I was--- I was just filling him in on my Hogwarts years." Remus shook his head and smiled at Harry, who in turn smiled back. Remus got up and put his arm around his wife, leading her out of the room, to go check on their new daughter. Tonks laughed as Remus kissed her before they left the room. Hermione walked over to Harry and kneeled on the floor at his feet.

"Harry, are you alright, Love?" She placed hands, folded, on his knee and leaned her chin on them.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Remus was just telling me about my parents and Sirius…It was kind of hard, but at least I know what happened now." Hermione nodded as James ran his hand over his face. "What about you? Are you feeling okay? You really shouldn't be kneeling on the floor like that, not in your condition." He stood up and helped lift a very pregnant Hermione off the floor. She laughed, a bubbly laughter that made Harry smile everytime he heard it.

"I'm fine, Love, I'm fine. I just came to get you for lunch anyway. Come on, let's go." She slipped her hand into his and smiled. "Harry?" She stopped before they reached the door and put her hand to her stomach. "I think it's time—either that or Lilly and James are kicking like hell."


End file.
